Sturgeon farm in Thailand

Growing sturgeon

Cultivated siberian sturgeon (Acipenser Baerii) comes into puberty at the age of 2.5 years approximately when its gender can be defined by ultrasound tests.

An ultra-sound tester shows the results

After the fish being tested females continue living on the farm for further caviar production but the males are usually is being sold for meat (fresh meat, hot-smoked balik, cold-smoked balik, etc).

Gross weight of male fish to be sold on the 3rd year is 7,500 kg (average live fish weight x 50%). Therefore the farm needs a constant repurchase of whitebait:

Year of operating

Number of whitebait

1st

25,000

3rd

12,500

4th and after

2,500

Repurchase of whitebait from the 4th year of operating is necessary to compensate grown fish losses during milking caviar process (approximately 10% of females won’t survive the operation or won’t recover after it). New whitebaits appox. 10 g weight each will be purchased from certified sturgeon farms located in Russia and China that are specializing in breeding siberian sturgeon (Acipenser Baerii).